SNOW WAS NOT HAPPY AFTER PEETA PULLED HIS LITTLE STUNT. He had told the rebels in District 13 that the Capitol was coming to bomb them, which hopefully gave them enough time to get to safety. Leia prayed that they had enough time as she leaned against the wall in her cell.

Everything ached and hurt, and she could not move at all without being in excruciating pain. However, she imagined that her pain was nothing compared to what Peeta was going through. He never returned after the broadcast, and they had heard screams down the hall for a while. The pained cries stopped a couple of hours ago, which probably meant they killed him, or the pain was so bad that he couldn't make any noise.

Leia's fingers were toying with the bracelet on her wrist, her eyes trained on the frayed strings that were once colorful and perfectly weaved. She sighed, a single tear rolling down her bruised cheek as she muttered, "I'm sorry, Finnick."

Her head whipped up when she heard Peeta's door open, and she turned to see three Peacekeepers throwing him back into the cell. Annie sobbed and Johanna winced at the sight of the boy. He was skinny and bruised, and he did not move from where he was crumpled on the ground.

His eyes flickered up to meet Leia's broken ones, and she used the remaining strength that she had left to push herself over to the bars separating him from her. She grunted as she moved, her arms still burning and covered in scars. She slipped her tiny hand through the space between the bars to where his was lying, outstretched in front of him.

Neither of them had enough strength to grip the other's hand, so their palms just lay there, against each other. They knew that the other person was there and that they were not alone. He did not smile, but the look in his eyes told her that he was thankful.

They stayed like that for hours, not moving or sleeping, just lying there. However, they allo furrowed their eyebrows when the lights in the hallway went out. There was yelling, and one of the Peacekeepers shouted, "The power's out in the entire city!"

All of a sudden, the TV in the corner of the hallway clicked on, and all of them slid to the end of their cells to see it. Leia froze when a familiar face greeted her, one that she had not seen in months, one that had haunted her dreams since she was fourteen. The curly blonde hair on his head and those eyes that had hundreds of women fawning over him. Annie gasped when she saw her Mentor.

Finnick.

"This is Finnick Odair. Winner of the 65th Hunger Games. And I'm coming to you from District 13, alive and well. We've survived an assault from the Capitol. But I'm not here to give you recent news. Instead, I'm coming to you with something much more important. The truth. Not the myths about a life of luxury. Not the lie about glory for your homeland. You can survive the arena. The moment you leave, you're a slave."

He paused for a moment, and Leia wanted to reach out and touch him, kiss him, comfort him. Johanna comforted Annie in the corner, and Peeta and the blonde girl glanced at each other. They did not want to get their hopes up that they were being rescued, but, God, their hopes were up.

"President Snow used to sell me. Or my body, at least. I wasn't the only one. If a Victor is considered desirable, the President gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. To make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry. But I found a much more valuable form of payment. Secrets. See, I know all the depravity, the deceit and the cruelty of the Capitol's pampered elite. But the biggest secrets are about our good President, Coriolanus Snow. Such a young man when he rose to power. Such a clever one to keep it. How, you may ask, did he do it? One word."

Finnick offered a very fake and very slight smile, and Leia had never been more happy that he knew everybody's secrets. He lifted his hand up and touched his mouth lightly, and she mustered all of her strength to smile.

"Poison. He stopped every mutiny before it even started. There are so many mysterious deaths to adversaries. Even to allies who were threats. Snow would drink from the same cup, to deflect suspicion. But antidotes don't always work, which is why he wears roses that reek of perfume. Help cover the scent of blood from sores in his mouth that will never heal. But he can't hide the scent of who he really is. He kills without mercy. He rules with deception and fear. His weapon of choice is the only thing suited to such a man. Poison. The perfect weapon for a snake."

Leia could barely enjoy seeing him before he was gone again. Katniss' face appeared in his place, but one of the Peacekeepers came in and noticed that the prisoners were watching and shot the TV. Leia could hear Peeta crying behind her, but she was sure that he was glad that Katniss and them were alive.

A door opened on one end of the hallway, and Leia waited for a couple of men in white with guns to run past them. However, she froze when about eight people in black suits and masks appeared. She was even more confused when they pressed a couple of buttons and unlocked the doors to all of their cells.

Leia and Peeta were way too weak to stand, so a couple of guys pulled them to their feet. The blonde girl cried out in pain until they picked her up and laid her down on some sort of stretcher. She was so confused, but she had no strength to fight back. She could hear Johanna yelling, but her shouts went quiet after a moment. That meant that either they did something to her, or she realized that these people were on their side. Leia prayed that it was the latter.

They hooked her stretcher up to some wires, and she heard some sort of aircraft above her. She felt herself being raised, and that was when she passed out.

《✵》

LEIA WOKE TO A LOT OF SOUND. She groaned lightly, and she slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in some sort of hospital, hooked up to a machine. There was a lot of chaos happening around her, but when she laid eyes on Katniss Everdeen, she realized where she was: District 13.

She glanced around and saw that Annie was getting treated next to her, and Johanna was yelling at some nurses a few beds down. Peeta was nowhere in sight, which was worrying, but Leia had something else on her mind.

"Where's Finnick?" she asked no one in particular, and she sat up in bed. Everything went black immediately, and she had to sit and breathe until she got her vision back. Nurses rushed over to her, shouting and telling her to lie back down.

There were about four sets of arms on her, but none of that mattered when she heard it. "Leia!" Her head shot up, and over the people surrounding her, she saw the top of his head. "Leia!"

"Finnick!" she called back, and she ripped the IV out of her arm and pushed past the nurses. She locked eyes with him, and she was almost positive she was dreaming. She had been imagining this moment for months, and she couldn't believe it was finally happening.

She was still weak, so just before she reached him, she stumbled. He caught her and pulled her toward him, immediately kissing her. She grinned into the kiss, and she had never been more relieved. They were there, together, and she wasn't in that horrible place anymore. She didn't have to worry about her child's safety, and she was in the love of her life's arms.

As if he or she knew that they had been reunited, the child in her stomach was kicking like crazy. He pulled away slightly, resting his forehead on hers but looking down and touching her protruding stomach. He raised his eyebrows. "The baby?"

"Fine. They're fine," she assured him, and she noticed that his eyes were trailing over her burned arms. She reached up and grabbed his chin, making him look at her. "Hey, we're fine. I'm good, the baby's good. We're here."

"God, I missed you," he muttered, pulling her into a hug. She kissed his neck, and her eyes were filling with tears of happiness. She was with Finnick. She was safe. She was home.